‘Fear of missing out’ lessons

PUPILS will be given lessons in dealing with body image, stress and “fear of missing out” to address concerns that three children per class are suffering from anxiety fuelled by social media.

A national “resilience programme” will be rolled out to every school, with lesson plans setting out how teachers should discuss “challenging topics” such as anxiety, peer pressure, bullying and self-image.

Schools will start introducing the lessons next month, with teachers given advice on how children should tackle the phenomenon of FOMO – “fear of missing out”. The scheme will be rolled out to every secondary school in the country from September.

Public Health England (PHE) said the programme aims to prevent children aged 11 to 16 from indulging in “risky exploratory behaviours” as a result of anxiety and other pressures.

Teachers will be encouraged to speak to young people “in language they will understand and engage with”, and will make an effort to become familiar with modern slang and text-speak.

The head of the Commons health committee welcomed the plans, saying it would help pupils cope with a range

of modern pressures. But parenting groups said such lessons could end up fostering more anxieties in the young, while taking up time that is needed for basic education.

The plans are revealed in a written submission to a parliamentary inquiry on children’s mental health.

PHE said the lesson plans will advise teachers about how to raise “issues such as online stress, exam stress, body image, the importance of sleep, peer pressure, how to have awkward conversations.”

The submission has been made to the Commons health and education select committees, who will be holding a joint inquiry on children’s mental health.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the Commons health select committee, said teachers needed to become versed in the language spoken by children and keep up with modern pressures.

She said: “There are phenomenal presssures on children and often adults don’t feel fully equipped to help.”

But Norman Wells, from the Family Education Trust, said schools were being asked “to do the job of parents”.

“The more we demand of schools, the more likely they are to lose their focus on education,” he said.